A Resource for Families of Patients in the Intensive Care Unit

I asked my secretary years ago to imagine that she was in an intensive care unit (ICU) waiting room; her new husband was admitted to the hospital with a serious illness. I asked her to describe what she would do and who she would contact. She said immediately that she was wasn’t sure. She couldn’t think of whom in her family to call for help. You see, her mother lives far away, she has friends but is not sure how they would respond to a situation like this. She is recently married and still doesn’t feel comfortable calling on her in-laws for help. Luckily, she has no children to worry about.This exercise was different than the real experience. In the real experience, amid the uncertainty of having someone admitted to the ICU with a disease that is likely unfamiliar to the family, there is the horrible feeling at the pit of your stomach as your mind goes through the multitude of possibilities: “What if my loved one dies?”“What if he/she is severely debilitated?”“What if he/she ends up a ‘vegetable’?”“What if I end up a widow(er)?” In addition, there are the competing concerns and fears about others in your family group: “Should the children be involved?” “Should we call the ex-wife or husband?” “How to have the in-laws come and visit when you can hardly stand to be in the same room as them?”As the family member or designated spokesperson, you are being asked to discuss difficult medical issues, make decisions about life-saving procedures, organize family members who are coming to visit, deal with family relationships that may not have been in the best of shape before this emergency, etc. Ultimately, you are also charged with keeping your own sanity so that you can do all the other tasks and prepare for the future.

The goal of this book is to help you get through this most difficult time in your life with your sanity and your family intact, and your loved one getting the attention that he/she deserves.

Produced by J. Javier Provencio and Kelly Ferjutz (with the help of Samantha Provencio)intensivecareguidebook@gmail.com